Taylor Advances At Amateur Public Links

Men's Golf

Taylor Advances At Amateur Public Links

Norman, Okla. -- Husky senior Nick Taylor advanced to the second round of match play in the 2009 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship after beating his first-round opponent Craig Cyr, 6 and 4.

Taylor, from Abbottsford, B.C., caught a lucky break in his match when Cyr stepped on his own ball on the 10th hole. It proved to be the pivotal moment in the match.

"It was back and forth the first seven or eight holes and then he got a bad break on 10 when he stepped on his ball," said Taylor. "That kind of turned things because he got a little frustrated, which I would, too, obviously. But I was able to birdie the next hole, and then he bogeyed the next, which kind of swung it my way."

Cyr jumped out of the gate quickly and went 1 up after the first hole. Taylor bogeyed the Par-4 opening hole before regaining his footing. The Husky All-American immediately squared the match back up on the Par-3, No. 2 hole with a birdie and won holes three and four to gain a 2-up advantage.

Taylor and Cyr went back-and-forth on Holes five through eight and tied on nine, before Cyr's costly mistake on No. 10.

Taylor, who was the top finishing amateur at the 2009 U.S. Open and recently won the Sahalee Players Championship, put the match away by adding to his lead on No. 11 and 12, before finally finishing off his opponent on No. 14.

Taylor will tee off at 5 a.m. PT against Brett Munson, 22, of Louisville, Ky., in the second round on Thursday.